The Not So Little Merman
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: Son of the governor of a Caribbean island colony, Kurt Hummel grows up spoiled but raised to be sweet, even without a mother, but he has the habit of waking up at 11:30 and going to the water. And that's where he meets a merboy. .:. Kurtofsky 6-part AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I can't get enough of Kurtofsky involving mermaids. Or, rather, mer_men_. And thus, here is another little AU ficlet in which Dave is the merman this time, and Kurt is the son of a governor in a Caribbean colony.**

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><p>"Father, is the sea in this part of the world really full of pirates and mermaids and sea monsters?" the little boy asks sweetly as he glances up from his perch on his father's knee as the man reads him a bedtime story about swash-buckling pirates and heroic sailors.<p>

Governor Burt chuckles and shakes his head as he shuts the book for a moment, holding his place with a finger, and presses a kiss to his eight-year-old son's forehead. "No, Kurt. Pirates exist, but not any of the mythical creatures. There are only humans and animals in the world, son, and nothing more."

"Oh. I see," Kurt nods, and he reaches out with his small hands and tries to re-open the book. "Go back to reading, please, Daddy."

"All right, son. But only a few more pages; I need to get up early tomorrow, before sunrise. There is a lot of work to be done."

"I know, Father," Kurt returns with a smile. "I just wanna finish this chapter."

"We will, but then it's off to bed with you!" Burt teases, tickling where he has a hold on Kurt's ribs.

Kurt squeals and bats his father's hand away, almost losing his balance and falling to the bed. But he remains upright, a smile still on his face, but as his father's voice returns to its calm reading-tone, Kurt starts to get sleepy. And by the time the chapter is finished, Kurt is fast asleep, his head on his father's chest.

"Goodnight, Kurt," Burt says softly as he settles his son into bed and kisses his chubby cheek. His face turns sorrowful; he just lost his wife half a year ago, when Kurt was a freshly turned eight-year-old. She died of a nasty case of influenza, and since then, Burt has had to run his small English colony in the Caribbean Sea all by himself.

It's not as difficult to raise a son by himself, however. Kurt is a loving, compassionate, obedient, and intelligent child. He is kind to the servants, he has flawless manners, he speaks respectfully, and he unconditionally loves his father and accepts that his mother is gone. Burt couldn't ask for more.

But his little boy has a secret.

A few hours after Burt leaves the bedroom of the mansion, Kurt stirs awake at the same hour he always does: precisely at eleven thirty. He has been oddly waking up at this hour since his mother died. In fact, he first did it the night she passed away, because it was at precisely that minute that she left her earthly form in her bedroom at the other end of the mansion.

And Kurt had instinctively known that the sea would heal him, so every night that he wakes up at this time, he opens his bedroom window, shimmies down the trellis of flowers outside, and then pads down in his bare feet and pajamas to the sea. He sits on a bank of soil, sand, and grass and always dips his toes into the water.

On this particular night, however, he sees someone out in the water, far away from the docks and ships, and looking small and young, like someone Kurt's age.

"…Hello?" Kurt calls out timidly as he stands. His feet get cold with dew on the warm spring night, and he cups his hands over his pale-pink mouth. Above him, the moon is just round enough to shed some light on the water's reflective surface. "Hello!" he calls again, louder this time.

The figure comes closer, and soon, Kurt is sitting down again as the person swims rather fast and reaches him. It's a boy, like Kurt himself, and he is completely wet like he has been in the water a long time, but as he places his forearms on the bank beside Kurt's drawn-up legs and curling feet, the boy smiles, and his hands don't look pruned like Kurt's skin gets when he's in the tub too long.

"Hi," the boy in the water says with a toothy grin. "What's your name?"

"My name is Kurt Hummel," the governor's son replies, feeling his heart race with excitement. He scoots back and lies on his stomach until he is resting his chin on his forearms in front of the boy, mirroring his movements. The water must be pretty deep off the side of the bank, Kurt realizes, because the boy is still bobbing like he is treading water. "What is your name?"

"I don't have one," the other boy replies, cocking his head. This is a lie; he has one, of course, but it is too long and strange for any human to comprehend. So the boy says instead, "You could give me one, if you like. A secret name only you know to call me by."

"Oh! Wonderful idea!" Kurt exclaims, giggling behind his excitedly clapping hands. He studies the boy's face. There is a beauty mark on the boy's cheek, close to his nose and the corner of his mouth. His eyes are dark in the moonlight, but Kurt supposes that they are either green or brown, because they are not light enough to be blue like Kurt's own eyes. And the boy has dark hair, a little curly even when flattened down with water. Kurt narrows his gaze and glances up and down. "Hmm. You look like a David or a Dave to me, like the boy in the Bible who fights a giant. Is that a good name? David?"

"I like that name," the boy in the water replies, smiling again as he tries it out on his tongue. "_Da_-vid. _Daaave._" He nods firmly, as if making it official."Yes, I like it. But I like it best when you say it. Say it again, won't you?"

"Of course. Nice to meet you, _David. _Would you like to be my friend?" Kurt wants to know, because being taught by a private tutor and kept safe in his mansion since he was a toddler, Kurt hasn't met many people his age, let alone other boys to play with.

"Sure. Would you like to join me in the water? We can play games," Dave offers kindly.

Kurt pouts. "I would if I could swim! Father hasn't taught me yet. He says that it is dangerous to learn in the sea."

"No, it's not. Here, I will teach you. Come with me in the water, and I will teach you," Dave coaxes soothingly, beginning to pull away from the bank and gesture with a hand.

Kurt nibbles on his bottom lip. He wants to trust David, but he isn't sure if he can. But why would David harm him? What _reason_ is there?

"All right," Kurt murmurs, and he messily yanks off his nightshirt. He shivers with the light chill of the night, his arms wrapping around his undeveloped chest. "Is the water cold?"

"Not if you get accustomed to it first," Dave instructs. "Inch yourself slowly into the water. Here, I will help you, since it drops almost straight down from the ledge." And he swims back gracefully, holding up a hand to where the governor's son stands in front of him. "Don't worry, Kurt. You're safe with me. Take my hand."

The second Kurt does, he's tugged into the water. He lets out a squeak at the splash of bracing seawater, and clings to David to keep from drowning or sinking. But as his legs kick wilding in the water and he trembles in the slightly older boy's grasp, his feet brush something scaly and smooth, like the side of a fish he touched at the market once.

Kurt's eyes go wide and he yelps, his gaze flickering to Dave's face. The other boy is chuckling, clearly amused, and Kurt's heart skips a beat. "Are… are you not human?"

It's then that Kurt spies the gills on the sides of David's neck, and feels the thick skin of Dave's cool arms around him. "No, I am not human, Kurt. I'm what your people call a 'merman.' But that's okay; I can still be your friend. And don't worry, no matter what you've heard, I won't hurt you." He truthfully wasn't trying to pull the wool over Kurt's eyes; he merely wanted to be closer to the human boy, and he couldn't leave the water, so the boy had to come to him. And the boy did, so David beams, content.

"A-all right," Kurt stutters both with a shiver and a blush. "I'll trust you." He suddenly smiles. "And you know, who better is there to teach me to swim than someone who is half fish?"

"Who better indeed?" David laughs, bringing Kurt's body closer for a second to reposition him. He holds Kurt from behind by the hands, and tells him, "Now, I want you to swish your feet back and forth in opposite directions, like two pendulums in a clock. And then I'm going to release your hands, and I want you to lean forward on your belly and push the water to the side, over and over. Got it?"

"I think so," Kurt says, already moving his legs. "Let go. I think I can do it."

And do it he does, within the first couple tries. Dave congratulates and praises him. "Amazing! You learn so quickly. You can now swim."

"I can swim, I can swim!" Kurt exclaims, turning into a bit of a doggie-paddle as he tries to stay afloat, salty water leaking into his mouth every now and then. Dave swims fluidly alongside the tiny human boy, and guides him back and forth along the bank close to Kurt's home.

But soon, Kurt gets tired, and David helps haul him up onto the bank again. Kurt rolls over onto his back and pants heavily, smiling a bit.

"That was fun. I want to practice and get better. May I see you again tomorrow night, David?"

"Of course you may. I will see you each and every night, if you like. Say the word, and I will," the merboy agrees with a smile.

Kurt scrambles into sitting position and tugs his nightshirt back on. He stress down the other boy and says firmly, "Then promise me, because I am saying the words right now: I want to meet you each night so I can get better at swimming and have a real friend. Pinky-swear." And he holds out his right pinky, waiting for Dave to take it into his own.

Dave frowns his arched brows and hesitates to mimic the movement and grasp pinkies with Kurt. "This feels odd. You humans have strange customs. But all right, I 'pinky-swear' to meet you each night at this hour. But if you do not show, or come less and less often, then I will do the same, and eventually, we will not see each other at all."

"Understandable," Kurt stumbles over the long word, but makes it out in the end. He nods once, and then unclasps their fingers. He stands up fully and starts to walk away. Turning back halfway, he waves over his shoulders. "Goodbye, David. See you tomorrow night."

"Farewell, Kurt." And just like that, Dave does a backflip in the air (making Kurt gasp and stare in awe, mumbling, "Wow…" under his breath) and splashes into the water, swimming under the surface and out of sight to somewhere in the distance, toward the horizon of deep ocean blue.

Kurt treks uphill back to his home, climbs weakly up the trellis, and then falls into his bed, completely exhausted, but also completely content.


	2. Chapter 2

Each night, at the time Kurt wakes from slumber out of habit and memory of both his mother's death and his first meeting with the merboy David, Kurt slips out of bed, puts on easy-to-swim-in undergarments, and ventures outside by using his window.

Dave is always waiting on the ledge of the bank for him, arms crossed on the grass and his shoulders hunched as he holds himself up. And his eyes always light up with a smile, teeth flashing, as soon as he spies Kurt.

And Kurt always returns the smile, and after multiple times of doing so, Kurt dives headfirst or jumps feet-first directly into the water without hesitation. Dave will teach him something new; a trick, a myth-come-true, a fact about an animal in the sea, or something about his own life.

And Kurt will return the gesture by telling his closest friend something of equal value, like a trick one can do on land with legs, or a truth about humans, or something about an animal of the land, or something about _his _own life.

The cycle repeats and repeats for years. The boys grow older, David always seeming to be a year ahead of Kurt in appearance of age, and always that much wiser. And Kurt's secret is safe through all these years that they mature together, because at one point, Kurt doesn't even need to scale the trellis; he can sneak right out the front or back doors, and not a servant catches him, and his father never spies him, and all is well.

When Kurt is sixteen, he comes down to the water one night during a full moon. He's learned from the brighter nights over the years that David's eyes are hazel, a perfectly deep and intense green-brown or brown-green, depending on his mood, similar to how Kurt's own eyes shift from green-blue to blue-green as they changed over the years. And it's those hazel eyes that he sees on this night, but they look somehow different to the governor's boy, but he can't place how so.

"David, I have quite the tale to tell you about what my tutor Emma did today! It was when the cobbler came to fit me for some dress shoes during one of our lessons. It will make you laugh, I'm sure," Kurt says lightheartedly as he removes his shirt and shrugs out of his pants. He sits on the edge of the bank and leans forward, elbows resting on his thighs, as he peers down at Dave's warm, lightly tanned face.

"I'm sure I will love to hear it, Kurt," David replies, his tone different than usual as he leans upward. He places his hands on Kurt's knees as leverage. "But there is something I wish to tell you first. Come into the water, won't you?"

Kurt nods, and Dave backs up as Kurt pushes himself off of the bank and lands in the water. He bobs, resurfaces, and starts to tread water as he looks at his friend questioningly. "What is it?"

"You will soon be seventeen, will you not?"

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"You will be of marrying age for your people," Dave goes on, staring directly into Kurt's eyes.

"Yes…" Kurt supplies again, this answer making him frown. He tries to see if he can tell what Dave is thinking or where he is going with this, but Kurt can't quite place the reasoning. "Again, why do you ask?"

"Because, Kurt. I don't want you to get married. Can I ask that of you? Can I ask you to hold off on it for as long as possible?"

Kurt, startled, jerks his head backward and bumping his spine into the bank behind him. "Wh-why, Dave? Is there something wrong with marriage that I am not aware of?"

The merman shakes his head. "No, of course there isn't. I simply… am making a request. Could you please wait to marry?"

"Sure, I suppose. For you, since I have known you for so long. You are my dearest friend, and I trust your judgment. But you do realize that, being a governor's son, wedlock is valuable to what I will inherit," Kurt says slowly, studying the water creature sideways as he swims alongside him and further out to sea than they normally go.

"I am aware. I just thought I would ask. Now then, you wanted to tell me a story?"

"Oh! Yes, I did," Kurt says, his smile renewed. "You know all about Emma, don't you? She is a nervous, particular woman who likes things neat and orderly, and she stutters sometimes when she is flustered. Well, just today, Will Schuester, the cobbler, came in to fit me for some dress shoes I will be expected to wear for special occasions, like all of the courting I will have to do to whatever woman is noble-blooded enough to look after the growing colony with me. But as it happens, Emma must be in love with Mr. Schuester, because when he came in, she blushed a furious red and stuttered more than usual, and kept eyeing him! But it gets better: he was being just as cordial and sweet right back at her. It was adorable to watch." He sighs. "I pray that whomever I fall in love with is as sweet to me. But every girl I meet is bossy or too old."

"Must it be a woman? With merfolk, love is not dictated by gender. We love whom we love, whoever it may be," David whispers, stopping his swim to face Kurt and swim in place.

Kurt's answering stop is jerkier and he bobs more than Dave due to his flailing legs, no matter how practiced and toned he is from swimming every night. "…I suppose it must be. That is what everyone expects, and what I constantly see. Is it even possible to fall in love with someone of the same gender? I have never seen it with my own eyes." Kurt replies with a shrug. He drifts up to float on his back, his arms pumping slowly at his sides and his legs dangling downward at the knee. He stares up at the starry, almost clear sky.

"It's very possible," David answers steadily, and he watches Kurt drift for a moment. He has never seen a human that looked attractive to him; most of them are dirty or smelly because they cannot bathe often, and some of them have rotten teeth or cruel eyes. But Kurt is different; he is better off with his fortune, so he is able to bathe when he pleases, so he always smells and looks nice, and he takes care of his teeth, and beyond all else, he is kind-hearted and accepting.

Dave wants so badly to tell Kurt that he is smitten with him, but with David's people, such a love is forbidden.

'You can never trust a human. They kill our kind. They are bloodthirsty monsters. They will expose you, capture you, or think you a common fish and eat you. Humans are vile beings, and they cannot be trusted. Stay away from them, or mark me, you will get harmed.'

This is the mantra Dave grew up with, but of course he kept this tidbit a secret from Kurt. He can't let the boy he loves get insulted by such demeaning words, and he can't let the boy he loves think that Dave is only his friend out of rebel. Among a million other possibilities and reasons.

David gnaws on his inner lip, an idea coming to mind as he watches Kurt float further away on his back, his eyes clearly shut. Leaning forward, David aims to swim under Kurt and tickle the sixteen-year-old with his tail. Kurt bursts out in laughter and rights himself to push Dave above the surface and then away. "Stop that! You know how ticklish I am."

"And that is why I did it," David grins, and his heart lurches in his breast as Kurt laughs again, using the merman's shoulder as support while his body shakes with the pleasant sound.

"You troublemaker. If you keep it up, I will never come down to see you again," Kurt warns, raising his free hand between them to flick Dave's nose.

Dave wrinkles the abused facial feature before grinning broadly. He tugs on Kurt's earlobe in response, saying in rebuttal to the threat, "Like you would ever keep that vow. You enjoy my company too much. Face it, Kurt Hummel: you could not last a single night without me. You would toss and turn in your cozy bed, aching to see me again."

"Would you like to take that bet?" Kurt dares, leaning forward and tackling David into the water. They tumble beneath the surface, Kurt holding his breath and watching Dave with squinted eyes as Dave grins playfully, bubbles rising from between his teeth, his gills breathing for him.

"Yes, I would," he says in a garbled voice that barely reaches Kurt's water-soaked ears.

The smaller, paler boy breaks the surface and inhales deeply, panting as Dave, too, shows his face above water. "Then a bet it is, David. You will wait here all night tomorrow, until dawn, for me. And if I do not show, then I win. And if I do show even a second before the sun breaks the horizon… then you win, and I will concede to your earlier request to not marry. Except I will not marry at all, instead of hold off on it. Deal?" And he holds out his pinky as if they were children again.

Dave glances at the boy's hand, then back up at his face. "And what if you win? What do you get from me?"

Kurt falters, blinking, and wipes some saltwater from his brow. Thinking quickly, his eyes snap back to Dave's and he answers with a challenge built into the movement of his rising chin, "You will show me your world. I will ride on your back when I am too weak to swim, and you will breathe air into me when it gets too deep. But I want to see your home, David."

"Then I pray that I win, because my world is a dangerous, busy place not meant for humans," Dave murmurs. But he nods and links their pinkies together. "Still, a deal you have." He grins cockily. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt."

"I daresay you will not!" Kurt retorts as his friend starts to race back to the shore against Kurt. Having a head start and the advantage of fins, Dave naturally reaches the bank first. Gasping, Kurt is not half a minute behind, and as he pulls himself up onto the grass and pants where he lies on his back, Dave leans up onto the side as far as he dares.

"You _will _see me, even if all you do is glance out your window. I will be watching to see if you do, because that counts." He smirks, adjusts his hold on the earth, and hauls himself up further until his face is hovering inches above Kurt's.

Kurt's breathing momentarily slows, and then stops completely as he peers up at Dave's face, perpendicular to his own. "…David?"

"Love between two of the same sex _is _possible," Dave reminds in a whisper, and then he closes his eyes and lowers himself, straining his muscles as he holding himself up over the ground, and he connects their lips.

Kurt makes a muffled sound of surprise, his eyes fluttering as he feels those cool, smooth lips cover the center of his own, the corners of Dave's mouth at the middle of the space under Kurt's nose and lined up with the light cleft in his chin. He reaches up and slides one hand in to the soft, wet hair at the back of Dave's head as he returns the kiss, puckering and unpuckering his lips as David's move over his own.

When they part, Kurt is in a daze, and Dave both looks as though his heart is breaking from sorrow and swelling with happiness at the same time.

"Farwell, Kurt," Dave utters as he uses his grip on the bank to shove himself backward into the water. He swims rapidly away, faster than usual, and Kurt doesn't move from that spot on the grass for another half hour, the starts twinkling merrily above him.


	3. Chapter 3

All day, Kurt asks questions to various adults and peers who are more knowledgeable than he.

First, there is his father.

"Father? Is it possible to love someone of the same sex?" Kurt wants to know.

His father makes a face. Running a hand over his balding scalp beneath his powdered wig, Burt blows air out his mouth and shakes his head. "That seems strange. I have never heard of such a thing. I wouldn't go as far to deem it _im_possible, however. Just… unusual. Why do you ask?"

"Just a curiosity," Kurt breathes, pressing his index finger to his lips as he turns and walks away after a small bow. He puzzles over it all day.

Because second, there is miss Emma Pillsbury.

"Emma? Can two people of the same gender be in love?" he asks quietly, his eyes searching her deer-like ones.

She cocks her head, frowns slightly, and then shakes her head, ginger locks bouncing. "No, Kurt. If that happened… Well," she says softly, placing her hand over his as she reaches across the tea table to him during their break from schooling, "Let us simply say that many people would not approve, and leave it at that. Would you like another crumpet?"

Third, there is Rachel Berry, an excitable girl who is an apprentice of the main seamstress of their little town. The brunette spins around with blinking brown eyes as soon as she hears the governor's son utter, "Rachel, what do you think of romantic couples who are of the same gender?"

Rachel shushes him, and then drags him to the back of the teeny store, out of earshot of others. "Did I hear correctly?"

"…Yes?"

She giggles suddenly, then embraces him. He's startled by both the contact and the scent of her flowery perfume in his nostrils. Then, in a whisper, Rachel answers, "I thought I was the only one who thought those sorts of things! You see, I believe that true love comes in all forms, and that Destiny does not dictate romance by sex. After all – and can you keep a secret, Mr. Hummel?"

"Of course. But please, call me Kurt; Mr. Hummel is my father."

"Yes, sorry. Kurt, promise you will not tell a soul, but… I think I am in love with one of my customers," Rachel confesses gently.

"But you mainly see women for dress fittings and creations," Kurt responds with a frown.

"Precisely my dilemma," Rachel sighs dramatically. She plops down onto a stool and puts her face in her hands. "But I think I love her. She is demanding, always wanting a particular style of dress or special alterations for one, but she is clever and she makes me laugh, and she is nice to me, and she is so beautiful. She has blonde hair the color of wheat, and amber-colored eyes."

"Are you speaking of miss Quinn Fabray? I know her. She visits me on occasion to speak to my father. She wishes to be governess, I believe. She would just use me, but she seems like a very pretty girl indeed. You… you love her?" Kurt says shakily, and he doesn't know why he's so nervous to ask.

Rachel nods, not sensing his nerves. "Yes, I do," she laments with another loud sigh. "I wish I could tell her, but I doubt she feels the same whatsoever. And we could not be together; it is too taboo in a society like ours. I pray that, some day in the distant future, it would be all right for a girl to love another girl, but I doubt it would ever happen before I give my dying breath. So, to answers your question, I think pessimistically of romantic couples of the same sex, but I do believe that they happen without our knowing."

Kurt nods solemnly, and then bows before taking his leave. "Thank you, Miss Berry. I think you helped me a great deal." And then he left.

The last person he asks is a boy he looks up to a great deal: the sweet-hearted blacksmithing apprentice, Finn Hudson. His mother is the town's baker, and his father a former sailor who perished on a trip some long time ago.

"Finn," Kurt approaches meekly, glancing up at the tall boy as the sweating boy works on getting a sword hot in the coals of the open stove before him. Kurt pipes up, "If I told you a secret, would you keep it with your life?"

"Sure thing, Kurt," Finn swears sternly as he wipes his brow, smudging some charcoal onto it, and then pivots and grabs a tool to start straightening the glowing-hot metal. "What– is– your– secret?" he asks between blows.

Kurt winces at each metallic sound before clearing his throat and answering only loud enough to be heard by his friend, "I believe that I am in love with somebody, and I feel like a fool for agreeing to a bet to practically disprove that fact."

Finn stops short. Then, slowly, a chuckle bubbles out of his mouth.

"It is _not _funny! Do not laugh at my problems!" Kurt yells angrily, whacking Finn's rock-solid shoulder blade with a book he happened to have in his satchel from running his errands around town today (and incidentally asking people questions).

"I'm sorry, Kurt, it's a teensy bit funny in an ironic way. But you're correct, I shouldn't be laughing." And he calms himself. Pitching the blade he was working on into some water to cool, he turns and leans against the workbench to give Kurt his undivided attention. "But why is this so bad? Simply lose the bet on purpose, thus proving your love for her. But whoever this girl is, she is very lucky for you to fret this much."

"That is the worst of the secret, Finn," the paler boy replies in a small voice. He drops eye contact as he admits, "It is not a girl I am in love with. He… His name is David."

Finn's eyes bulge out of his head. Then, slowly, he coughs into one hand and whistles lowly. "Oh. Well, that is definitely… a problem. Um. Does he even feel the same, or is this a hopeless case?"

"He kissed me, so I think that suffices as proof," Kurt mumbles, still looking away, and this time he's twisting his hands together.

Finn chuckles nervously and runs a hand through his messy, short hair. "Wow. That warrants some sort of praise for boldness. But Kurt, my answer is the same: purposely lose the bet. If this guy is worth it –"

Kurt nods firmly, a small smile on his lips. "Oh, he is. But I would very much like to win. You see, he vowed to bring me to his homeland if I won, and I want to see it so badly. It sounds like such an exotic place."

"I figured this David character wasn't from around here; I do not know any Davids. However, I still say you should lose. If he loves you enough, and is committed, he will take you to his homeland at some later point despite your bet," Finn returns with a grin. For someone who knows nothing about reading, writing, or arithmetic, Finn is smart when it comes to situations such as these. He doesn't think logically, only thinks with his heart and gut-reactions, but they are precisely what Kurt needs, because Kurt's brain is always riddled with _too _much logic and schooling.

Nodding again, the governor's son starts to make his exit. "Thank you, Finn. You have been the most helpful of all."

Finn smiles and waves. "Don't mention it. And speaking of which, I won't mention what you confessed to me, either. I make good on keeping vital secrets."

Kurt laughs softly. "Yes, I know. That is why I knew I could trust you. So long, Finn."

And with that, Kurt feels a little lighter, because perhaps he knows, now, what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

After sunset that night, Kurt paces his bedroom, avoiding his window. He has the curtains drawn, and he chews on his cuticles and wrings his nightshirt every now and again as he wonders if, just for fun, he should test himself to see how long he can last before going to meet Dave, or if he should confess to Dave tonight, or if Finn is even correct and Dave _will _eventually show him his underwater kingdom, or if it truly is a risk the merman won't take.

Heart ricocheting in his chest, Kurt breathes slowly and sends away anyone who comes and knocks on his door, offering nightly provisions. When his father is among them, Kurt almost caves in and lets the man in, but instead, he insists that he is weary and wants to sleep, so they all should leave him be.

It's all a jumble, like a ball of yarn, and it aches Kurt inside. David had been (sourly) fair in his assumption that Kurt would be too eager not to meet up with him.

"Damn you, David!" Kurt curses with a groan as he flops backward onto his mattress and presses the heels of his hands into his eyes. He exhales slowly out of his mouth, and then drops his arms out to the sides of his body, completing the star shape of his form on the bed. "I only ever knew you as a friend, and then you suddenly say such things and proceed to kiss me? I would hate you if I weren't realizing…" And he drifts off, his eyes going dreamy.

Realizing, Kurt thinks, how intensely he has always loved David, even since they were children roughly the age of ten, having already known one another for two full years. The feelings of excitement of having more than a secret or merely a friend beginning to tingle in Kurt's fingertips and make his heart swell and stomach flip pleasantly. It began then, and carried all throughout puberty.

And now here he is, on the brink of his seventeenth birthday, and all Kurt can think about is his merman companion and how it felt to have those cool lips on his own warm mouth.

Idly, Kurt touches his fingers to his lips and can't help but remember it as crisply from the previous night as if it were happening all over again. And a whispering moan escapes him, and he turns onto his side and curls his fingers against his bottom lip, pulling it away from his teeth as his nails dig sharply into the tender skin, keeping him alert as sudden desire rushes through him, flushing his cheeks and electrifying elsewhere.

Who ever thought ideas such as these could plague him so, and over _David _of all people?

With an exaggerated sigh, Kurt cannot last a second longer. He made it until midnight, a mere half hour past his usual meeting time, and he is already fleeing out the window, leaping the single story into the bushes below, recovering quickly, and bolting downhill.

"David! Curse you to the depths of the ocean, but you were correct! I could not resist –" And he's pathetic laughter is cut short when he reaches the bank and glances around, finding his merman friend nowhere in sight.

Kurt's face falls flat, his steps short, and he drops to his knees. He leans over the water, peering down into it, then out at the open sea.

As loudly as he dares, he calls out, "David? David…? Dave…"

But there is no answer.

And Kurt has never felt so lonely or let down in his entire life.

0o0o0

"Father, please! I beg you! Let me go to him, I made a promise –" Dave tries to say, but King Pauldamdrin Alexricus Gandofskaravid cuts the young lad off with a pound of his fist to the wall of their underwater cave, the glowing crystals around them casting sinister shadows on the older merman's usually calm, round face.

His voice stays low, only rising when appropriate, as he reprimands, "E-_nough,_ Prince Ramallen Tardissius Gandofskaravid! Did I not warn you countless times that humans are not to be trusted, and are dangerous to us? Why else do you think this human asked you to bring him here? He wants to give away the location of our entire race so that his people can wipe us out and use us however they please!

"Are you a fool? Did you truly think he cared for you? I cannot believe you went behind my back for so many years to go see him. You only made matters _worse _by falling in love with him. How could you, my only son? How could you, when you are the heir to my throne?" His voice becomes gentler as he swims closer and says, laying his hand on David's shoulder, "What will you have me do? What did you think I would do when you came to me with the idea of possibly letting a human follow you down here?"

Dave grabs hold of his father's arm, his eyes darting back and forth between his father's eyes and the crown on his head. "I was only thinking with my heart, Father. Kurt can be trusted, you _must _believe me. He is only in awe of me, and if he wins, all he wishes is to see where I come from. He means no harm, and he couldn't harm a soul even if he tried. Please, I wish and urge you to grant me this. I even doubt he will win anyhow, because I'm sure he loves me in return, and will want to see me. Can't you understand?"

"I can try, but I cannot let you go through with this. If he wins your little wager, redirect him to have a different prize instead. Do not lead him here under any circumstances. And who can even know if he would survive the trip? And then you would love whom you love, and I would be just as devastated to see you in such despair. So _please,_ Ramallen, I implore you to take my advice. I will let you leave this time, but do not ignore my heed," Paul answers reluctantly.

Dave briefly touches his forehead to his father's bicep in gratitude before ducking away and swimming as fast as he can (out of what will later become known as Atlantis) toward the island in the Caribbean where his love resides.

0o0o0

Kurt isn't sure when he started to cry, but he knows that it must be lasting for quite a long while, because his eyes are beginning to hurt. Then, suddenly, he hears a voice and feels a cool, wet hand on his leg.

"Kurt, please don't cry. I know I'm late, and I apologize."

Kurt snaps out of his misery to find the source of it staring him in the eye. He shoots a glare at Dave's apologetic face. He lurches forward and smacks his best friend hard upside the head, shouting in a tear-strained voice, "You _moron! _What did you expect me to do when I did not see you here? Chickening out on our bet, avoiding me after kissing me, abandoning me in general… Of course I would cry! And here I was, about to tell you that I loved you –"

"Is that right?" Dave cuts him off, smiling impossibly wide and lifting himself up to sit beside Kurt on the bank, his gills fully clamping down and his lungs opening up, the ending fin of his tail in the water. He pants heavily a little at first, but he was breathless anyhow the second he heard the word 'love' spoken. He reaches over to a frozen Kurt and grips his hand. "Funny, because I recall loving you from the start, the night we met when we were younger. I doubt it was romantic then, but it became so after a while."

Kurt removes his hand from David's grip and half-turns to study the merman's expression, his eyes wandering down to the way the half fish is somehow out of the water. Peering upward again, he remarks softly, "I lost the bet. I had to see you. And now I don't think I could marry anyone _regardless_ of our deal." He touches his hand to Dave's face, and Dave tilts his head into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment.

"And now you _have _seen me," Dave answers quietly, opening his eyes and leaning forward on his palm. "And now I ask something more of you: think not again of seeing my home." He leans back and sighs. "I… I spoke to my father, Kurt. He was furious with me for agreeing to even the slight _chance _of you seeing it, because he fears humans.

"And what's more," the sea creature goes on, "I think he was just in stating to me that you might even survive that sort of trip underwater. So please, think nothing of it. Instead, I want to try and find a way to be human like you are. I want to see your world, more than distant perception from the ocean. I didn't want you to marry because I had hoped you would wait for me."

Kurt gasps mutely, and then, in one swift movement, wraps his arms around Dave's neck. The merman is startled for a second, but soon returns the embrace by encircling the smaller boy around the waist. He has never felt Kurt when he was still clothes and dry, and he finds that he likes the feeling of cotton against his skin and the scent of Kurt's hair, stronger when it isn't soaked with saltwater. And Kurt feels so much warmer this way, like a miniature sun.

Kurt smiles and clings a bit to Dave's larger frame. "Of course I would wait for you, David. I'm sure you will find a way walk on land like me, and when you do, I will be here."

"Thank you," David whispers, and pulls away enough to grip Kurt's chin and kiss him tenderly. Kurt's head feels dizzy as he kisses in response, his hands smoothing over Dave's lightly furred pectorals and then around back to his taunt muscles. His fingers scrunch in Dave's drying hair as he opens his mouth, permitting the other's tongue inside.

Dave's own hands pull Kurt closer and move to cradle his face, thumbs brushing over Kurt's sleek jaw line as he moves Kurt's head for him.

Parting only a moment to breathe, hands relaxing their grip temporarily, they gaze at one another with clear eyes before their hormones kick in, and they suddenly clash, lips devouring lips, hands moving faster along frames, and soon, they are falling sideways into the water, and Dave breathes oxygen into Kurt's mouth as they continue to kiss with fervor.

Only when Kurt is gasping for air does Dave chuckle and place him back on shore, handing back some of the clothes that were shrugged off in the water, soaked and heavy. Turning his head to look down at the water, Kurt pants, "You will… be here again… tomorrow night, yes?"

"Yes. Unless I find a way to be human before sunset," David teases. He gives the human adolescent one final peck on the cheek. "But I make no promises, because I am determined to find a way to be like you. Half of me is human if appearances are anything to go by, so why can't I become fully so?" And he turns and splashes into the water, starting to swim off.

"My birthday is next week, on the first night of the quarter-moon!" Kurt calls out to Dave's retreating back. "If you cannot see me because you are looking for answers, at least come on that day!"

"I shall!" David tosses over his shoulder with a final wave. Then, just as quickly, he dives below the surface.

Kurt drops his head and catches his breath before he attempts to wring out his clothes and return inside his house.

But as soon as Kurt slips in through the front door, Governor Burt Hummel is waiting just beyond. "Midnight swim?" he says, eyeing his son with questions written on his face.

Kurt blinks, and feels uncomfortable as he starts to move toward his bedroom. "Ah, y-yes, as a matter of fact… I just… felt the urge."

"I didn't know you could swim. You never go to the water during the day," Burt frowns, puzzled, and clearly not angry.

"Yes, well. I, uh, taught myself over the years. I do it every so often when I can't sleep. I never can sleep after eleven thirty until about one in the morning or so. Not since Mama passed on," Kurt admits tiredly. He sighs, then says, "With all due respect, Father, it's past two o'clock and I am very tired. May we converse when the sun is up?"

"Yes, yes; you are right. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Father," Kurt murmurs as he makes his way up the stairs. And then he falls onto his stomach into his bed with fresh clothing on, asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

David knows that he shouldn't do it. It goes against every moral fiber of his being, not to mention his father's orders, orders he has heard over and over again as a child: "Never go to Calypso." But he needs to try, for Kurt's sake. The young boy is so sweet and kind and cheer-bringing and humorous, and through all these years, he has been the sole thing on Dave's mind. So how can he not risk a few rules and morals if it means being with Kurt completely?

Taking a deep breath of water, Dave swims over to the shipwreck. Inside dwells the sea-spirit goddess Calypso, as well as her minions. These are dangerous waters, and she is a dangerous entity. But if he is humble enough, perhaps…

"Ah, young prince of the merfolk," calls a voice. It echoes off of the rocks and rotting wood of the grand ship – once owned by a man who went by Davvy Jones, and spawned a whole slew of legends – as if there were not an ounce of water around to slow the sound waves. "How nice of you to visit me."

Out of the darkest shadows of the massive ship, a woman emerges. She seems to walk in mid-water, stepping on things that don't exist. Her hair is as long as seaweed, but it looks silky-soft and untangled. It flows around her in all directions, and her eyes are large and piercing, black with yellow irises, and red pupils. Her nose is concave, her jaw pointed and delicate, and her fingers are thin and long, with sharp painted nails like red claws. She has skin that is the color of every race of humanity, but with an undertone of grey-green, scattered fish scales of the same hue ebbed into her skin on her joints, like her shoulders, knees, elbows, and so on.

Calypso is beautiful, however. She has sleek, arched eyebrows and long eyelashes, and her mouth is a pleasing, plump shape, and her teeth are clean and bright white and straight, and she does not have fangs like Dave thought she would. Her figure is perfect, the sort any human girl would die to have: not too thin, not too curvy, and all of her muscles are toned and her complexion unblemished save for a small scar on her left collarbone.

She is also nude; she has no need for earthly embarrassment because she has no genitals; nothing shows that she is remotely human. She has breasts, yes, but they lack nipples, and between her legs there is only smooth skin. She has no belly button, showing that she was not spawned from a womb of any sort at one time. She might even have been created full-grown, an adult since her earliest memory.

Dave swallows. He feels instantly intimidated by her. She is gorgeous, frightening, unusual, and screaming of her godhood in every graceful move she makes.

Her voice is pure and delightful but intense and strong as she speaks again from her pretty, shiny, red-violet lips: "You seek my help, young merman? Please, I may be a goddess, but I cannot read minds. Voice your wishes, and I will see if they are within my power."

"Beautiful sea-goddess," David addresses as he bows and humbles himself, not daring to look her in the eye again, "I request a favor, and you may name the price for it. I ask that you make me human so I may be with the young man I love."

"Love? Such a powerful emotion," Calypso comments idly as she steps through the water without resistance to where the merman treads water and continues to bow. She places her hand, nails first, on his shoulder as she steps lightly around him, her voice everywhere. "Such a respectable, admirable, _noble _reason to want to change oneself. Not many come to me seeking a transformation, let alone for such a reason. But how can I trust thee, merman? What if your true intention is to walk among the humans who curse your kind so and slaughter them? – But no, you said 'man' and not 'woman.' That is very unique indeed, so how can that be a trick?"

Smiling devilishly, Calypso releases Dave, and he inhales sharply, not realizing he had been holding his breath when she was touching him. She glides over to the ship, and raises her arms. A small box appears, and floats to her hands. She turns back to the merman and holds the box from the bottom, facing the lock toward him.

"Do you know what this is? This is Pandora's Box, the very same one that was given to her by the gods many centuries ago. It can capture sins and emotions, it can grant them, and it can also reveal the truth behind a sin or emotion. So let us look inside and see who dwells in your heart, young prince. Let us see who has captivated you so, if you are telling the truth."

"I have nothing to hide," Dave whispers. "And as soon as you see him, you will understand, and know that I am not lying."

The goddess nods and opens the chest. Bubbles rush upward, merging into a single orb, and crystallizing where it hovers in the water above their heads. Dave's mouth gapes, and Calypso waves her hand over the curve on her side of the sphere.

Instantly, fog fills the globe above the box, and in it, shapes, figures, and colors swirl. All at once, they focus, and as if peering into a dream, Kurt is seen in a clean-cut suit with his hair combed back and parted to the side. A man is with him, an older man with peppery-green eyes and a powdered wig. The view is reflective, showing all angles at once like a prism within the sphere.

Their voices are hazy, but their words are clear:

"Kurt, you are turning seventeen next week. It is time to search for a bride; I cannot be governor forever. I need someone to take my place and work under the King and Queen, and you are the first choice. Why not marry Miss Fabray? She seems to like you, and she is very political. She would make a great governess."

"But I do not love her, Father! You would not understand. I… There is someone I made a promise to. I refuse to marry until they… I would like to wait for them, Father," Kurt says at last after tripping over his words more than once.

"Fine, I suppose. If you have your heart set on someone, then I cannot stop you. But may I inquire as to who it is? I would like to know what girl I will be seeing take your hand in marriage," the man – Burt, the father Kurt often spoke highly of, Dave assumes – replies calmly.

"I… I cannot tell you, Father. Not yet. I would rather you meet them in person," Kurt answers quietly, nervously.

"Fair enough," his father smiles. "I hope they are as dedicated to you are you are to them."

And with that, the scene dissolves, and the large bubble bursts into smaller ones and sucks back in to the box. Calypso stares down at the ancient chest for a moment, and then glances upward, directly into Dave's stunned – but touched – face.

"It seems you _were _being truthful. And he loves you very much," she murmurs, for once her voice sounding normal. She lets the box drift back toward its original place as she simultaneously steps nearer again. She examines Dave's face and form with her bizarre eyes, and then she just barely touches the side of his face to her palm. Her skin feels blisteringly hot, ten suns to Kurt's one, and Dave flinches with his eyes but not his body. He carefully gazes back at her, and all at once, she says, "I shall fulfill your request, young prince. But on several conditions."

"Name them, Calypso. I will obey each one if it means being human like Kurt." And he would shed a tear if he weren't underwater. "Thank you in advance."

"You are foolish to thank me so soon," she grins. She raises a finger and states, "Because what I ask of you are three things: one, that never venture into the sea again. Being human means being on land. Ships you may cross, but the second your body delves beneath the surface of the ocean, your tail will respawn, and you will be a merman again.

Calypso smiles and raises a second finger. "Two, you must give me payment in the form of equal value. For your debt, I require your memories of the ocean. Everything you have experienced and seen in its depths, I will take from you. This means your family, your friends, you home, and most of your life. When you awake on shore after this meeting, you will have no recollection that you were ever merfolk, nor will you remember me. You will think yourself a childhood friend of your true love, as well as an orphan, but nothing more."

"Fair enough," Dave whispers, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. He won't remember his father or his life in the sea? This is more difficult to take, but he braces himself and takes it in stride. Tightly, and with a slightly wavering voice, he asks, "And what is the third condition?"

"I am merciful, despite popular belief, young sea-prince. I will make you fearful of the sea to prolong your possible return to it. And if you do return, becoming merfolk again, your memories will return to you… But you will forget all about Kurt and your life on land. The effect reverses completely, you see? Therefore, my third condition is your full agreement to these terms. Memories are powerful, and I hunger for them; _collect_ them, if you will. So either way, I will get something from you. Do we have an accord?"

She slowly turns the counting hand into a compliant shaking hand, and holds it out to him. She turns her pinky out, extending it his way, and with a flash of memory, Dave thinks back to Kurt and how it felt abnormal and childish at the time, but now seems like the beginning of an end to one life and the start of another.

"We do," David whispers, and he links pinky fingers with her, sliding his arm up into their forearms touch, and then together, they bite down on their thumbnails, shedding a drop of blood each, green from her, and red from him.

The droplets circle the water around Dave, growing into an inky mass of dark black until Dave is thrashing, gasping for something to breathe, and soaring upward from the sea floor to the surface.

And then, all too quickly, David knows no more.

0o0o0

Dave groans and stirs in the sand, waves feet below where he lays. He rolls onto his back and forces himself to sit upright.

"What…? Where…?" he mumbles, his memory glitchy and fuzzy, and his mouth tasting like blood. He touches his hand from his spinning head to his lips, and he finds no mound, only a scab on his right thumb and no clothes in sight. He jumps, startled, and he thanks whatever deity exists that it's nightfall and no one can see him in the nude.

Only one option comes to mind, and that's to get clothes from Kurt.

Kurt! He remembers something, now: something about planning to meet up with the other teen tonight, like they do almost every night when Kurt can't sleep. But Dave oddly and inexplicably can't remember much else besides his times spent with Kurt.

But no matter, he shrugs and hides in some bushes below Kurt's bedroom window and whisper-yells up to the open glass. "Kurt…! Kuuurt!"

Suddenly, a head pops out, glances down from the sill, and the eyes go wide. "David?" Kurt exclaims, then clamps his hand over his mouth to silence himself. Little does Dave know, it's three days before Kurt's birthday by now, because he had been carried by the tide from the middle of the ocean to this precise shore by Calypso for the better part of a few days. Kurt says in an excited panic, "Oh! You did it! I mean, I should have known when you didn't show for a few days, but, ah, um… Hold for a second, would you? I need to – get you some clothes, and meet you down there, and – I need to – _Gah_!"

And Dave isn't sure what Kurt's talking about, but he chuckles softly in amusement as the boy scrambles around, running back to the window to say a few words and then vanishing out of sight every now and then to collect something into his arms. Kurt is so adorable, David thinks idly. He rocks back on his heels, covering his parts with his hands, and wais patiently until Kurt is racing from around the side of the house, leading Dave to the back where the boy had exited from.

"Here, let's get you dressed properly; I took some of my larger clothes to fit your build," Kurt murmurs, his face pink even in the dim light of the moon. He glances away and nibbles on his lip as he hands Dave clothes and tires not to glance downward. His fingers twitch, suddenly eager to feel Dave's new skin _all _over, but he resists with all his might and forces himself to look out at the sea or the town below.

When David is clothed, he steps over to Kurt, smiling. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while, which is ridiculous, because the last thing I recall is saying goodbye to you. For the life of me, though, I can't quite recall _how _I left, only that you were growing smaller in the distance behind my back. My memory is so poor right now, you'll have to forgive me," he says, taking Kurt's face in his hands. Kurt is startled but the mirroring warmth of Dave's skin to his own, and how dry in comparison to how he used to feel, which was always a little waxy.

"It does not matter," Kurt says flippantly, quickly waving it aside with one hand. Then, steadily, his hands instinctively rest on Dave's hips, the area previously the start of scales. He rubs the bone over skin and pants, and the taller boy gasps at the uncommon sensation.

"That's… sensitive," Dave says in a breathy rush.

"Come inside with me. I want to get a better look at you," Kurt whispers as he leans in and places a kiss on the former merman's neck.

David sighs and nods in agreement. "Don't mind if you do…"

Taking the taller boy by the hand, the governor's son leads him through the quiet mansion up to his bedroom across the building from the governor himself, and up a level from the servants' quarters, which is suddenly a huge benefit and taken-for-granted detail and Kurt reminds himself not to take lightly again.

There is a lock on Kurt's door, but he has never used it in his life. He kept the door closed the night of the bet, it's true, but he didn't dare lock the others out. They stayed away out of respect. But this time, Kurt can't risk anyone being in the room but himself and the young man he loves.

So, carefully, Kurt locks his door from the inside with his skeleton key, and places the key in a drawer as Dave watches from the edge of the soft bed. Kurt turns around, and without hesitation, he walks right up to Dave and stands between his knees.

"I want to be with you," Kurt says quietly as he drapes his arms around David's shoulders and presses his forehead to the top of the other boy's head. Dave smells like the sea; like fresh air and bird feathers and clean fish scales and warm seashells and the light, pleasant scent of sand. Above all else, however, he smells like the water on its best day, vaguely salty but entirely crisp and faintly sweet.

"You are with me, silly," Dave muses. He lightly touches Kurt's lower back over his nightshirt. "What's this about?"

Kurt trembles with a shiver, and leans into David's warmth more. "No, I mean… I cannot marry you because we are both male and no church would allow it, let alone anyone else, but I do not want to be like Rachel and Quinn, doomed to be apart. I want to live with you somewhere, perhaps away from here, and I want to bond you to me forever, physically. I am nearly a man; I will be seventeen in three days, and I'm sure you are already as old. So please, grant me that. Let me _be _with you completely."

And he looks down into those deep, conflicted hazel eyes, and understanding is found in there, along with sparks of love and desire. "Are you positive that is what you want? You're asking me to…"

"Tomorrow, I will introduce you to my father," Kurt says, his lips ghosting over Dave's chin and mouth. He plants a kiss, and goes on, "And after my birthday gathering, we will slip away, perhaps arrange for a boat to meet us, and take us somewhere, like the New Land in the northwest they are calling America. And we can go where no one will shun us for being together, and we can 'live happily ever after' like the books my father would read to me as a child. But tonight, David, I want to make love with you, like our own secret marriage no one will know about."

Dave's breath catches in his throat. He stares up at Kurt with searching eyes. Then, ever so slowly, he takes Kurt's hands in his between them and nods his head. "All right, Kurt. We will do it your way. I love you so much that I am willing to do whatever you ask of me."

"Thank you," Kurt cries, smiling with tears brimming his lids as he leaps into Dave's arms, making him fall backward into the bed. He covers the larger boy in kisses, and then starts to remove the clothes. "Although I should have kept you naked, considering," he remarks with a slight frown.

And David simply laughs, holding Kurt closer, his hands sliding down Kurt's frame as their clothes start to peel away.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning comes late for Kurt. He blinks crusty, bleary eyes at the sunlight pouring in through his window, the sound of banging on his door reaching his ears. He rubs his eyes until he can see, and slowly lifts his head. Dave is still fast asleep, mouth slightly open, and Kurt smiles a little despite the noise, because he's too pleased and still glowing inwardly from the fact that he is curled up naked, legs twined, head on a heaving chest with a previously mythical sea creature turned human just for him, out of love.

"Is that you at the door, Father?" Kurt calls out, careful not to wake his lover as he slips out of bed and stumbles, his muscles confused and sore from their first time acting out a sexual deed (or several), and hurries to dump water in his wash basin and sponge his body clean, jumping in his own skin when he glances in the mirror and finds a few love nips and full bites on his skin.

Blushing furiously, Kurt hurries, too, to get dressed back in his nightclothes as his father answers, "Yes, it's me! Why is your door locked? It's never locked. And you missed breakfast and morning tea! Is something the matter?"

"I am… uh, quite _ill,_ Father!" Kurt says, forcing a rasp into his voice. From his bed, Dave stirs, and frowns both in confusion and at the bright light of the late-morning sun. "I do not wish for you to c-catch it," he coughs. "Please," he adds with a groan as he tosses his lover's clothes to him off of the floor, "Carry on without me for the day."

"Oh. Well, all right, son. But try to get well again before your party, I would hate to disappoint all those guests by turning them away, since it's too late to send out notices of reschedule or cancellation!" Burt calls through the door. "Would you like me to send up a few servants with some healing soup?"

"Yes, please," Kurt says, although he immediately plans to hide Dave in his wardrobe until the servants have left. "Thank you, Father! See you some other time when I'm not as –" he fakes a sneeze "– sick!"

When he hears his father's retreating footsteps echo down the tiled hall, Kurt bursts out in wild laughter and collapses onto his bed, clutching his side.

"Was that not flawless? My acting is impeccable. He utterly bought that."

"…You are a wicked son to deceive your father so," Dave grins, climbing onto all fours on the bed to bend down and kiss Kurt sideways, their lips perpendicular, and a vague memory is flashing across his mind as Kurt's kisses him back. Breaking it, he murmurs, "We kissed that way before, but I can't recall how. You were lying in the grass, but where was I?"

Kurt frowns. "You have been different since you came to me last night in human form. Do you not remember being a merman, David?"

"_Merman?_ Don't be ridiculous, Kurt! Mermaids and the like don't exist. I think I have lost some memory due to a fight of some kind. See, there is this mark on my thumb that is relatively fresh, from after I saw you last, but I don't know how I got it," Dave explains with a shrug, showing his hand to Kurt.

And, being the clever, quick boy he is, Kurt all at once understands: in order to be human, Dave had to sacrifice his merman side completely, memories included. However he came to be this way, it was done by something truly powerful to remove so much of Dave's life from him.

Swallowing, blinking, Kurt slowly comes out of shock and offers a timid smile. He props himself up on his elbow and uses his free hand to run his fingers through David's hair. "You're right, Dave. I must have dreamt it. Sorry if I confused you. Now then, how about some soup? I think I hear one of the servants knocking."

0o0o0

Kurt keeps Dave hidden for the next two days, feigning sickness as he stays in his room with the taller boy. They talk, mostly; Kurt tries to gage how much Dave knows and remembers, and almost get to know one another all over again, except it seems that Dave knows a lifetime's worth of details about Kurt's life and not much whatsoever about his own. When they aren't talking, they gravitate toward one another and kiss instead, and at night, they make love again, always trying to see what feels right and safe and good for one another.

Finally, on the day of Kurt's birthday party, people from all over the Caribbean idled colony of close friendship status or of noble blood show up at his door, and Kurt makes his lover sneak out the back and making his way around to the front, borrowing some unworn clothes from Kurt's wardrobe to guise himself as a guest to the party.

Kurt plans on introducing Dave as his true love to Burt, but no one else. Of all people, Kurt's father deserves to know, and as it happens, he promised his father as much anyhow.

When the party is winding down after gratuitous amounts of ballroom dancing, music, laughter, drinking, and food, Kurt pulls Dave aside – he had been careful not to dance with him all evening for fear of the reactions of others, and having his father know prematurely – and brings him to the governor's study.

Kurt then retrieves his father, telling him along the way that he is about to meet Kurt's true love, and that he shouldn't be so quick to judge.

"Why would I judge them? –She isn't a prostitute or something of the sort, is she?" Burt says, clearly confused.

"Not quite, Father. You will soon see," Kurt murmurs, and then, taking a breath, he pushes open the door to the study and closes it behind him. Dave jumps where he was standing, admiring the world map on the wall of every inch of land discovered to date.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, but you will have to clear out, my son is suppose to –"

But Kurt cuts his father off very quickly and states with a forced smile and a gesture of the hand, "Father, this is David. He is the reason why I do not wish to marry, even if there are plenty of lovely girls here."

Burt Hummel stops dead, confusion forming dark storm clouds on his brows, but then, suddenly, his face turns as stoic as the sea. "Ah, I see. This is why you asked that odd question earlier this week. You were seeking approval, weren't you? Because you love him."

Dave looks worriedly between the two Hummels, and sighs a little with relief when he sees that Burt isn't disgusted or coming into a rage.

Kurt seems to relax as well. "Yes, Father. Thank you so much for understanding."

"I do understand. And I love you no matter what you choose, because you are my son and the last piece I have of Elizabeth, and you are such a good boy. But Kurt, I'm not sure what to do about this. Many people… they would not be very understanding, and I want to keep you protected," Burt relays as gently as he's able, turning to look his son in the eye.

Kurt's expression falls, and he looks pained. Swallowing, he nods firmly, his voice thin as he answers, "I am aware, Father. And that is why I would like to ask your permission to help me leave. David and I plan to go somewhere no one will care how odd it looks for two men to be romantic together, and where ridicule from the church or anyone else is long out of earshot."

"It pains me to see you go, Kurt, but if that is what you wish… then I will help you, son. I would rather die myself than have you harmed because others might see this as a sin. So yes, I will arrange that." he turns, smiling, to David. "You better treat my boy well. He means the world to me."

"I wouldn't dare treat him _un_well, sir. He is my world as well," Dave replies solidly, taking a step forward and puffing out his chest a bit.

"Good. In that case, let us return to the party, and I will make arrangements tonight."

And with that, they left the study one at a time, Kurt stealing a fast kiss on the hand of happiness and celebrations from his lover.

0o0o0

A month following his birthday, Kurt waves to the docks below to his Father in the middle of a crowd of family and friends waving goodbye to the group of people on the ship _Miss Gleeful, _headed for America. Kurt weeps happily, tears flowing from his eyes in a steady trickle like rainwater down glass, and as Burt Hummel and everyone begin to shrink from the size of normal people to the size of Kurt's index finger, Kurt turns away.

He turns and steps into Dave's chest, hugging him tightly and burrowing his face into the taller boy's clothes. No one on board knows the details of their relationship, and no one asks. They simply leave the pair be, and as David soothing strokes Kurt's hair and kisses the paler boy's temple, he murmurs, "We did it."

"We did," Kurt agrees with a sniffle as he pulls away enough to look up at David's loving gaze. "And now, we can have that happy ending, right?"

"Of course," Dave answers with a light chuckle. "Just… keep me away from the edge of the boat. It took me forever to get on it without panicking from the look of the ocean, and now I need to stay away from the water or else I might faint," he teases, but he actually means every word. He is terrified of the ocean, and he isn't sure why, exactly. The mystery of it? The danger? No matter. He has Kurt and the promise of a new life, and that right there is more than he could ever bargain for.

"I shall protect you, fair maiden," Kurt jokes, laughing and rubbing his thumbs back and forth on Dave's back.

"If one of us must be a maiden, I would say it is you," Dave rebuttals not unkindly.

Kurt pulls away, scoffing with a disgusted sound. "Why, I never!"

David laughs again, pulling Kurt's body back to his. "I jest, of course, love. I jest, like you were. I know for a fact that you are plenty manly, and can protect me from the Big Bad Ocean. And I thank you for that."

Kurt hums, warming up to a smile as he sinks back into the former merman's embrace. "Mm, you're welcome."

"Now let's go down below. I am feeling a tad nervous from the lack of land nearby."

"As you wish," Kurt says lightly as he guides his lover down to the hold of the ship, where the cabin bunks and galley are located, and below that, their luggage and supplies.

And as they say, the two lives happily ever after, living a full live in a cabin they built themselves in a forest near the Appalachian Mountains. And because they lived far from the sea, Dave never lost his memories of the love of his life, and having no recollection of anything else, lived freely and contentedly.

While Kurt never forgot how they met and how real it was, he did learn to shove it to the back of his mind and use it instead as a story to tell the children of the village he often visited at the edge of the forest for supplies. Except he changed Dave into a mermaid and altered the story to make it how he and Dave could have been: married, and in full remembrance.

And he called the tale, _The Littlest Mermaid, _and while the story shifted from teller to teller, Kurt will always remember the true original, one he calls with a smile in his head, _The Not So Little Merman. _


End file.
